Even the most curmudgeonly out there have to admit that television is on a roll. Departed favorites like The Wire, The Sopranos, and Deadwood showed us what can be accomplished in the medium; current shows like Mad Men and Breaking Bad push the boundaries even farther. Now, when people note that they don't own a TV, they're not bragging — they're apologizing. Below, I help you plan your week in front of the glowbox by looking at intriguing new shows and noteworthy returning sophomores — what you should plan to watch without fail, what you should record and save for whenever, and what you should wait to check out on Netflix. I'm assuming you've already formed your opinion on stalwarts like House and The Office.

SUNDAYGiven its network (HBO), setting (Prohibition-era Atlantic City), pedigree (it was created by ex-Sopranos writer Terence Winter, and the first episode is directed by Martin Scorsese, who is also the series's producer), and cast (Steve Buscemi, Gretchen Mol, Michael Pitt, and Michael "Omar Little" Williams), BOARDWALK EMPIRE (September 19 at 9 pm) is about as close to a sure thing as you can get these days. | VERDICT: WATCH IT

HBO also has an oddball comedy bloc that pairs the manic intensity of Danny McBride as former relief pitcher Kenny Powers in EASTBOUND & DOWN (September 26 at 10:30 pm) with the deadpan Jason Schwartzman as a novelist moonlighting as a private detective in BORED TO DEATH (September 26 at 10 pm). Both shows cater to a well-defined niche, and both do their respective "thing" well enough to warrant at least a look. | VERDICT: DVR THEM

Even though AMC's THE WALKING DEAD won't premiere until Halloween (10 pm), I'm ridiculously excited about Frank Darabont's adaptation of Robert Kirkman's graphic novel about a group of survivors trying to hang together after the zombie apocalypse. | VERDICT: WATCH IT

MONDAYThe 9 pm hour features some new contenders. First is THE EVENT on NBC (September 20), which looks like some sort of unholy offspring of Lost and 24, combining the latter's hyper-suspenseful feel with the former's layered mysteries, all of it leading to some kind of massive government conspiracy surrounding the title, uh, event. Unfortunately, the last few network shows that tried a mythology-heavy storytelling style — Flashforward, V, even Heroes — didn't fare so well. | VERDICT: WAIT FOR THE DVD

Over on Fox, there's LONE STAR (also September 20), in which a con man (played by James Wolk) tries to take over an oil company from his father-in-law while maintaining a secret life on the other side of Texas. The show's creator, Kyle Killen, has ambition: he compared Lone Star to Mad Men and Breaking Bad during the Television Critics Association press tour. Early reviews have been good, but Fox's record with artistic boldness is sketchy. | VERDICT: WATCH IT WHILE IT LASTS

TUESDAYIf confronted, I will deny it, but I actually kind of enjoyed the first season of Fox's GLEE (September 21 at 8 pm). Which is why I'm concerned about the second season — now that it's an out-of-left-field cultural phenomenon, Glee has to contend with hype and expectations. Disaster potential is high. | VERDICT: WATCH IT, BUT BE PREPARED TO JUMP SHIP AT THE FIRST SIGN OF FALLOUT

Interview: Andy Richter We have a chub for Andy Barker, P.I. (just released out on DVD), because we have a major chub for the show’s star, Andy Richter. Richter plays an accountant who is mistaken for a detective-for-hire and decides to just roll with it.

Interview: Cesar Millan "Pit bulls are not bred for healing people, or for healing dogs. But because I channel the energy into something more humane, they're using all this pit-bull energy into really making it happen."

The power of Cesar The funniest moments of Cesar Millan's PackPower Tour show at Agganis Arena last Sunday came during intermission, when the three big video screens showed a snippet from "Tsst," the South Park parody episode where the Dog Whisperer goes up against Cartman.

More than Mormons Despite the comparably juicy family dysfunction it offers, Big Love hasn't achieved the iconic status of its HBO predecessor The Sopranos . Maybe viewers relate better to the mob than to Mormons.

The resistible rise of Andrew Fenlon By the time I get Andrew Fenlon on the phone — two days after the airing of his now-notoriously contentious American Idol audition — the world around us has already split into three factions: those who loathe him, those who love him, and those who need a reminder: who is Andrew Fenlon?

Spy ware Hitchcock fans will feel right at home with the DVD box of the 2008 BBC production that's making its American debut this Sunday on Masterpiece Classics .

Must Flee TV? If Jersey Shore and Last Comic Standing had a threesome with Curb Your Enthusiasm in the men’s room of Great Scott, the bastard issue might look a little something like Quiet Desperation .

Easy does it Writer/producer Eric Overmyer was quoted in a New York Times Magazine article last month, but it’s worth repeating: “ Treme is not the The Wire .” He went on: “Those who are expecting The Wire or wanting The Wire may be frustrated.”

Lizz Winstead on WikiLeaks, Obama, and Glenn Beck Lizz Winstead, co-creator of The Daily Show and former Air America host with Rachel Maddow and Chuck D, brings her sharp political wit to Pawtucket's Mixed Magic Theatre on August 27 and 28, for two shows each night.

REVIEW: THE NEWSROOM | June 20, 2012 The Newsroom is a dose of concentrated Sorkin, by turns maddening and exhilarating.

HBO'S VEEP NEEDS MORE MEAN | April 23, 2012 Reality, right now, is so absurd that almost everyone has already adopted a "laugh-to-keep-from-crying" approach to the news. We don't need someone to tell us how truly horrifying our political landscape is. So what's a satirist to do?